Should i buy a bike or car for the winter?

[apple tango]

My cbr125 was stolen 2 weeks ago. It's most likely gonna be a write off so i should be getting around £1000 for it.

I am in a dilema as to whether to buy another bike (possibly a bandit if i pass my DAS on 11th Oct) or to get a cheap car (£500-£1000) to see me through the winter.

I absolutely love biking but this would be my first experience of the winter on a motorbike, and to be honest i wouldnt be looking forward to it one bit!

My other plan would to buy a shitty cheap car for through winter, then sell it and buy a bike for next summer. I am worried i would end up spending a lot on repairs and maintence though as it would probably die every month or something.

Has anyone else had to make this decision before, or a similar one?
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CBR125 -> Bandit GSF600 '99 -> SV650 02

[chrisgsxr]

Hi mate, When I first past my cbt I was riding a 125cc for 2 years solid as my only means of transport.

I would suggest that if you are going to get a bike for the winter months that u soundly invest in some proper warm and water proof gear.

Jacket,pants,gloves and boots.Also a good helmet is recomended.

Riding in the rain,wind and snow for months on end is quite shit and the feeling will never leave me but with the correct clothing is bearable.

Having a car can b expensive but if your careful when buying one having a grande to use should get you a very reliable micra or equivalent but u will get pissed off with the traffic lol.

Choise is yours mate iv got a few of each and would hate to have to choose

[EuropeanNC30R...]

What would you be using the bike/car for? Short commute (what length?) or long trips etc.

[NSR Mick]

Get a car, bikes are shit in winter. I spent 10 years with a bike as my sole means of transport and it's not nice.
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If you dont like the way that I ride.......Stop trying to keep up!!!

[apple tango]

[Ariel Badger]

Half hour trip in town, Get another cheap 125.
Not long enough on the road to get real cold even on a bad day. If the roads are gritted you will be fine. I do not see that a larger bike will be of any advantage in the winter for what you intend to do.
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Bikers make great organ donors, get 115 on your licence today.

[chrisgsxr]

I beg to differ !! half an hour is more than enough to freeze your bollox off.

[Ariel Badger]

LOL, My bike lives outside and on cold monings the seat is covered in ice. I just wear my work trousers and no undies ( just don't like pants, I like my nuts to swing). There is no greater pleasure in life than thawing your saddle out with your plums.
1000 times better than coffee for waking you up in the morning.
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Bikers make great organ donors, get 115 on your licence today.

[iooi]

[apple tango]

[Ariel Badger]

I have done over 30 winters on bikes, ok some of them were in Africa but they were all good. Winters in a car are depressing, stuck in slow moving traffic with some twat of a DJ introducing the next Slade Christmas record for the thousandth time on you cheap radio.
Ride, fall off on ice get back on a ride harder. Bikes are not supposed to be comfortable or safe.
They are fun and keep you young.
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Bikers make great organ donors, get 115 on your licence today.

[colin1]

on a bike you should wear enough clothes in winter to keep you warm.

This means you will be warm from the moment you leave the house to when you get there.

In a car on a short commute, the car will take quite a while to warm up, so you will be cold in the cold car for at least 5 minutes, maybe 10.

In my case, commuting by car, would mean an extra 30mins that i wouldnt be in bed for.
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colin1 is officially faster than god

[NSR Mick]

[kawakid]

Depends on how far you have to go.

I did last winter on the bike, but just because i'm too tight to buy another car (wife/kids use family one).

Also if you do use a bike through winter, make sure its a hack, and be prepared to wash it down every day. Yup every day I hosed it down after riding and applied Scottoiler preventative and it works!!! .

If you do ride, i'd seriously recommend heated grips or over grips. They make a massive difference. Cold hands are awfull your reaction times drop massively. I've got Ride magazine top rated A-star winter gloves and even them aren't up to Yorkshire winters.

Saying all this I've ridden in some stupid conditions and its not nice.

Roads with ice / snow its not clever or enjoyable. When it goes below zero i've had my rear go all strange and weridly light and I dare not go over 20 mph and I had both legs sticking out - just incase and then cars up my behind. Not nice.

I also find it funny on this forum how everyone makes out they ride through winter (the previous year I got laughed at for using a car), but last year (rode all the way through) I would see on average 1 other motorcycle per week). (Ohh and it was the same guy).

One hint if you have a naked bike and no heated grips. When you stop lean over the bike and hug the engine it warms you up.
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I've a twin and a 4.

[Ariel Badger]

As a last resort wee in your leathers for warmth. As I work in a school this is not often an option.
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Bikers make great organ donors, get 115 on your licence today.

[mistergixer]

I'm soft and i don't like cold, i also dislike greasy, slimy roads and having to wash the bike every day (either that or watch it disolve in front of my eyes).
Therefore it's the car for me through the winter, the bike gets tucked up in a cosy garage and given a run every now and then.
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Space Monkey #7
Don Eladio is dead. His capos are dead. You have no one left to fight for. Fill your pockets and leave in peace. Or fight me and die!
Mistergixer's videos on YouTube

[alliamc]

I was riding through the winter, I kept an eye on temperatures in forecasts and chose not to ride if the temperature went below -2 although getting up at 5am meant the ice hadn't really had time to unfreeze itself. Riding with gale force winds is fun (if you like challenging trucks coming the other way when gusts of wind blow you across the road!).

With the theft of my bike recently I was contemplating the same idea, get a car for winter then return to bikes in spring, but now with hte possible return of my bike I think my question has been answered... another winter of freezing my tits off!
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Alli x
https://www.bikepics.com/members/alliamc/

[JAMSXR]

It is not nice driving through the winter but its good experience.
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Honda SFX50 > Aprilia SR125 > Aprilia RS125 > Honda RFV400 > K4 GSXR600 > KTM Duke > C1H 636 > K3 GSXR1000 > Aprilia RSV-R > Triumph Street Triple R > Ducati 899 Panigale > Aprilia Tuono 1100 > Triumph Daytona 675R > KTM SuperDuke 1290 2.0

[Fahd]

[iooi]

[hmmmnz]

do you licence and get a bike, if you get a bandit get crash bars, they are invalueble, winters arnt too bad on a bike over this neck of the woods, i managed a 40mile each way commute in scotland and lived to tell the tale, although riding in snow for long periods can be quite tiring, and having to wipe snow from your visor every other second is a pain in the arse, but i can honestly say im as hard as nails now lol,
go for it mate
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the humans are dead
I kick arse for the lord
Wiring Diagrams BIDNIP it bitches

[apple tango]

I think i have decided to prove how massive my balls are and get another bike for the winter.

I'd be shitting myself riding on icey roads, so maybe the train/bus will have to do for them types of conditions.

And yeah, heated grips sound like a very sensible idea, along with decent warm gear.

My dilema now is what bike to buy. I'm doing my DAS cos i badly want a more powerful bike than a 125, but from what people have said maybe sticking to a 125 for winter might be more suitable than getting a Bandit.

What bikes do people recommend for through the winter?
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CBR125 -> Bandit GSF600 '99 -> SV650 02

[TUG]

any, as long as the rider is compitent, i rode my 50 and cg through winter with ease, it the first time on a 400 and its all the same aslong as your riding is smooth and relaxed.
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Haz ER-5, innit!

[veeeffarr]

To be honest even the salt and stuff isn't as much of a bike killer as everyone says...

[Kal]

Same as I'd recomend to a new rider for similar reasons...

CB500 with enginebars
CG125 with enginebars

Nowt with fairings.
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Kal...
I Like To Hoon It Hoon It I Like To Hoon It Hoon It I Like To Hoon It Hoon It Ya Like To (HOON IT!).
1984 GB250 Clubman,1983 CB250N Superdream, 1999 GPZ500S